May the tensions keep building and building.
SOME SIGNS OF TENSION EMERGE AMONG ISLAMIC STATE MILITANTS
BY ZEINA KARAM
ASSOCIATED PRESS
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BEIRUT (AP) -- As the Islamic State group tries to expand and take root across the Middle East, it is struggling in Syria - part of its heartland - where it has stalled or even lost ground while fighting multiple enemies on several fronts.
Signs of tension and power struggles are emerging among the ranks of its foreign fighters.
The extremists remain a formidable force, and the group's hold on about a third of Iraq and Syria remains firm. But it appears to be on the defensive in Syria for the first time since it swept through the territory last year and is suffering from months of U.S.-led coalition airstrikes and the myriad factions fighting it on the ground.
"They are struggling with new challenges that did not exist before," said Lina Khatib, director of the Carnegie Middle East Center in Beirut.
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SOME SIGNS OF TENSION EMERGE AMONG ISLAMIC STATE MILITANTS
BY ZEINA KARAM
ASSOCIATED PRESS
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AP Photo/Uncredited
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BEIRUT (AP) -- As the Islamic State group tries to expand and take root across the Middle East, it is struggling in Syria - part of its heartland - where it has stalled or even lost ground while fighting multiple enemies on several fronts.
Signs of tension and power struggles are emerging among the ranks of its foreign fighters.
The extremists remain a formidable force, and the group's hold on about a third of Iraq and Syria remains firm. But it appears to be on the defensive in Syria for the first time since it swept through the territory last year and is suffering from months of U.S.-led coalition airstrikes and the myriad factions fighting it on the ground.
"They are struggling with new challenges that did not exist before," said Lina Khatib, director of the Carnegie Middle East Center in Beirut.
Continue reading at:
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/M/ML_ISLAMIC_STATE_SPREAD_THIN?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2015-02